This week in sports: Free-agent drama on the diamond

Listen to the Keeping Score podcast with sports business expert Rick Horrow:

A wrap-up of the week in sports news:

With the World Series trophy safely housed at Fenway Park for another year, all eyes are now on baseball’s offseason market for free agents, which got off to a rollicking start. The National’s star outfielder Bryce Harper turned down an enormous 10-year, $300 million offer to stay with his team, according to media reports, keeping the beleaguered Washington, D.C. sports market in a persistent state of high alert. Rick’s take: Harper’s agent is Scott Boras – and few would expect anything less from the brash representative many MLB front offices have come to view with fear and loathing.

The U.S. Olympic Committee moved to revoke USA Gymnastics’ role as the national governing body for the sport, with the countdown to the Tokyo 2020 Games already underway. The decision came amidst immense pressure from fans as the USOC faces the daunting task of finding the right leadership for its prized gymnastics program. Rick’s take: While there’s never a good time for this kind of wholesale leadership change in any organization, it’s clear that nothing short of a full scale housecleaning would work at USA Gymnastics.